Thicker Than Blood
by Bardiel Angel
Summary: When Aang and the gang help a captian's ship, they find something around the river bend that changes their plans. And who are these two strangers? Zutara!


Disclaimer:Sigh: I really don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Too bad though, cuz I'd make it sexy!

Special Thanks: If any of you are familiar with me, then you know my somewhat famous Special Thanks List. If you review my story, then YOUR NAME GOES HERE! WWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I'm writing two different versions of this story. This one, which is mostly the Zutara side of it, and another that's mostly the Tong side of it! For those of you who care, this takes place before "The Library" okay? This is a Zutara story with Toph/Aang pairing here and there. Sokka, unfortunately has no one unless you guys tell me otherwise! With that being said, here's the story!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

River Bend  


"We're here!" cried Aang in his usual cheery mood.

"Honestly Aang, why do we have to help every single person with every single problem they have! It's only slowing us down!"

"Shut up Sokka! It's Aang's duty to help anyone and everyone he can. Would you quit trying to be the boss!"

"I'm not the boss, I'm the leader!" Sokka's face grew long with disappointment. He hated it when his sister was right. Especially because she was his younger sister. "You know what's funny Katara?"

The Water Tribe girl looked at her brother with a questioning look. "What?"

"You see, I thought that I'd have to go through so much trouble to keep boys away from you, but since your such a loud mouth, I can see that you won't need my help..."

"WHAT!" Katara's face became as red as fire. Her scream was so loud that the surrounding people all shook.

"Wow Katara, that was some vibration." Toph noted. Katara simply growled and turned away from her obnoxious older sibling.

It was then that Toph decided to change the subject, fearing that Katara was going to kill an innocent by-stander. "So Aang, why are we going on this ship again?" The four companions looked up at the enormous Earth Kingdom vessel. It's hull and mast creaked from moving up and down in the light waves that the river cast upon it.

"We're going to help these Earth Kingdom soldiers and Water Tribe warriors get these supplies to a nearby village. The village is a Water Tribe and Earth kingdom outpost for the soldiers. It's a place where they can all rest. There are citizens living there, but mostly warriors.

"Well then why do they need help if they're all soldiers?" Sokka asked, puzzled.

"Well, for the past week, all of the vessels that have left this port to go up the river have been plundered by pirates. They asked us to help them to guard their supplies."

"What are we going to do about Appa?" Katara asked. "We can't just leave him here."

"We're going to take him aboard. They already told me that it was okay." Everyone stopped and looked at Aang. "What? I've got everything planned for once!"

"That's why we're worried." Explained Sokka.

The four companions boarded the ship. All of the soldiers, Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom, greeted them warmly and with many bows of respect. The Avatar's adventures became well known over the months and not many people hadn't heard of the Avatar's thrilling tales and feats against the Fire Nation. Azula in particular. The four sat down and Appa climbed aboard as well. Sokka started to polish his boomerang, Katara was playing with a tiny stream of water, Toph was spinning rocks in her palm, and Aang was petting Momo's soft fur. The little lemur purred slightly as he adjusted himself in Aang's lap.

Suddenly two figures boarded the ship. One of them was an old man with a large beard. His cloak made his face less visible. The other was a much younger man. A boy really who had short hair and a bandage that covered the left side of his face. He pulled his cloak further down, resulting in his face being clouded by shadows. Aang was almost certain that he knew them from somewhere. He got up and decided to ask the captain of the ship about their identities.

"Who are those two?" He asked innocently.

"Oh them? We asked them to help us too. They're strong fighters who needed a ride down the river. I don't know anything else about them. I think that they might be refugees. It looks like they've had it rough."

"Oh...thanks." Aang rejoined the group and sat down once more. The bell sounded and the ship set sail down the strong river's rapids. A day went by and all that kept the group busy was their bending practice. Sokka didn't need to be busy, he slept most of the way. Toph started to get really sea-sick and constantly had to lean over the banister. Her face was a yellow-green color.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay Toph?" Aang asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about it Twinkle Toes. I'll live. There's just too many vibrations. That's what's making me sick. Not to mention we keep going up and down up and down up and down. It's driving me crazy!" She started to yell. Aang only laughed. He had gotten used to her sudden outbursts. He actually sort of was glad that she was yelling. It meant that she was being her normal self.

Katara glanced over at their two strange ship-mates with wonder. It looked like the two of them had been through a lot. Their clothes were mangy and they never spoke. The older of the two drank a lot of tea and seemed to be enjoying every minute of their trip, where as the young man seemed heartbroken almost. She could tell that they had been around ships before. Whenever there was a problem with the sails, they fixed it.

Suddenly there was a cry from one of the crew members. "Pirates are attacking! They're heading towards the starboard side! All hands on deck!" Katara ran over and woke Sokka up to fight.

"Are we there yet?"

"No Sokka, not yet. We have something else to take care of. The pirates are attacking."

Katara, Aang, and Toph took their bending stances while Sokka pulled out his boomerang. The two mystery fighters took strange fighting stances that they didn't recognize. Pirate after pirate jumped onto the vessel. Aang dodged a sword just as Toph hit the said pirate with a wave of coal. Katara used her water whip to knock unsuspecting pirates off of the ship. Sokka tied a lot of them up or chucked them over-board. While Katara was busy with one pirate, another came up behind her. Just as her was about to strike, the young man knocked him out of the way. Katara turned around and realized what had happened. Her eyes locked with his. She stared into the eye that wasn't covered by a bandage. Gold and yellow hues stared back at her own deep blue hues.

"Have we met before?"

"Maybe once, in a far off dream." He stated. With that he turned around and with the surprisingly strong old man, took care of the rest of the pirates. The captain approached Aang and company along with the two strangers as the soldiers cheered.

"Thanks to the Avatar, and his brave companions we will deliver these supplies safely to those who deserve them!" Once again the soldiers cheered and congratulated everyone.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The moon was full as Katara stared up at one of her nation's patron spirits. That night, there had been a celebration in honor of their success. Stories were shared and drinks were passed. The two strangers didn't join them in the fun, but no one bothered to argue that they join.

"_Maybe once, in a far off dream."_

The boy's words rung clear in her head. His voice was so familiar. What did he mean by what he said? Questions without answers clouded her head. She closed her eyes and listened to the waves crashing against the hull of the ship. She always felt like her mother was with her when she heard or saw waves. The sound calmed her nerves until she finally drifted off into a sleep with many wonderful dreams.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Wake up Katara." Aang's voice echoed in her ear. She opened one eye to find only bright sunlight overhead. She immediately re-closed it. She sat up and stretched her arms up into the air as high as they could go. She lazily bent down and woke up Sokka's sleeping form. He only grumbled a "five more minutes" just like she expected.

Toph was already awake due to her now constant sea-sickness. She looked like she was about to pass out.

"Toph are you sure you're okay? I mean, is there anything I can do?"

"Would you stop worrying Twinkle Toes? I mean Honestly! It's getting on my already shot nerves!" Aang somewhat drew back from her forwardness, but nonetheless stopped asking. Katara giggled at how cute he was. She knew that he kinda liked Toph. He respected her. She was also close to his age. She leaned onto Sokka's shoulder. Yesterday's shenanigans with the pirates made her beat.

"What's on your mind?"

"Look how cute they are."

"Yeah, it's cute, but kinda annoying." She looked up at her older brother and smiled. She wished nothing more than for him to find the perfect person for himself. Boy did he need it!

"LAND HO!"

"A ho! Where!" Sokka shouted.

"SOKKA!" Katara smacked him as hard as she could. "YOU JERK!" Sokka cowered away from his sister. She could get violent sometimes.

"I was just kidding!"

"What's a ho?" They both looked over at Aang who was scratching the top of his head.

"Uuuummm...I'll tell you when you're older...okay?"

"Okay!" Aang said optimistically. Katara just rolled her eyes. Then she realized that the older of the two strangers was laughing hysterically at her brother's joke.

"See! That guy has a sense of humor!" His younger companion just growled at him and rolled his eyes in disgust.

"He actually laughs at everything, I wouldn't take it as a compliment if I were you." The young man stated. Sokka just crossed him arms with a "Hhmph!" Katara giggled lightly at how childish her older brother really was.

"If you ask me...I think Sokka's an idiot." Toph stated bluntly.

"What! Is this gang up on Sokka day or something?"

"You betcha." Toph said with a laugh.

"Hey guys look!" Aang pointed to where the river was now narrowing. It was a vast river. It seemed like an ocean at the beginning of their journey, but now it looked more like a regular river. Their ship became emerged in a dense forest. They looked forward as the ship sailed deeper and deeper into the woods. No one knew what awaited them just around the river bend.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

First chappy done! Woot I did it! Now all that's left is your reviews! Tell me what you think! Come on guys. Otherwise your name doesn't go on the list and Sokka doesn't get a "mate". PRETTY PLEASE?


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